Alternate History 0
by redit
Summary: The prequel to Alternate History. Spoilers included. This is Itachi in his younger years.
1. Chapter 1

**Yay it's a prequel! In this chapter Itachi is six years old. In the next chapter he's seven. There will be time skips often so pay attention or get confuzzled!  
****New formatting. I will respond to anonymous reviews at the end of each chapter.**

**Chapter 1- It's A Boy**

"Where's Mummy?" I asked, tugging on my father's pant leg. The only reason I spoke so childishly was because it was expected. I had seen the look people gave me otherwise. Even my own father…

"I told you already, she's at the hospital." He replied gruffly, trying to gently pull away from my grip.

"But why? Is she hurt?" I had heard her complain about pains during the past four or so months.

"No." he replied simply. He moved his leg again to try and pull away.

"Well, is she sick?" I tried again. I had seen her vomit lately as well. She was also gaining weight.

"No, your mother is fine." He replied as he bent down to remove my hand. I knew he was lying, I wasn't stupid. People who are fine don't mysteriously vomit.

"Why is she in hospital then?" I asked, frowning. I increased the strength of my grip so he couldn't take my hand away and escape.

"She just is!" he replied, getting annoyed. He was hiding something from me. I wondered what it was and why he was hiding it. I was his son wasn't I?

But my 'interrogation' was interrupted by a loud knock at the front door. I scowled; I had to release my father now. I did so and he made his way towards the entrance.

Was my mother dying? No, surely Father would see dealing with something like that as training too?

I heard the door open and a loud voice exclaimed. "Mr. Uchiha! Your wife has asked me to summon you and Itachi kun to the hospital! She's going into LABOUR! Isn't it _youthful_!?" the fifteen year old chuunin proclaimed.

My father looked shocked. 'Shocked out of his socks,' as my cousin would say.

Then again, if Maito Gai turned up on anyone's doorstep, _anyone_ would be shocked. If the loudness didn't get you, the enthusiasm would.

But I couldn't get his words out of my head. Mother was going into labour? What did that mean? Was it code for something?

It must be positive if Gai was calling it youthful. Then again, that could be an elaborate ruse to avert my suspicions… But now I was thinking too much.

"Thank you Gai san." My father said in a way that didn't sound thankful in the least. "We will be there as soon as possible."

Gai beamed and my father shut the door in his face before he could say any more.

"They sent Gai?" my father wondered a loud, "He must've been the only person nearby…" He shook his head and turned to me, "I explained to you about being a big brother didn't I?" he asked, kneeling down to my level.

"_Mother_ did." I replied, slightly annoyed that he couldn't even be bothered remembering that.

"Well, now you have a baby brother. We are going to the hospital to see him and your mother." He replied, leaving a big gap.

I frowned to show my contempt at this answer. "But… _Dad_, where did he come from? There's something still missing. Why won't you tell me?"

"Go wash your face and hands. You can't go out in public looking like that."

I looked down, remembering that we'd both just been training. I had dirt on my palms from when I'd been knocked to the ground.

Before I could ask him anything else, my father disappeared into his own room to get changed.

I sighed and wandered into the bathroom. So mother being in hospital had something to do with me getting a baby brother? I couldn't help but wonder how it worked.

Was it a cycle? Would she have babies every six years? Or was there an event that triggered it?

I remember once I came home and my parents were kissing. My mother had explained that "Only Mummies and Daddies," did it. My father meanwhile didn't talk to me for a whole week after wards.

I knew by now that I couldn't get anymore out of my father, but perhaps my mother would answer some of my queries.

I scrubbed the dirt off my hands then splashed some on my face. I quickly ran a comb through my hair and tied it back. Then I ran back to the front door. I was keen to see my mother and brother. I was keen to get some answers too.

Father was holding me on his knee. I could feel he was tense. Was it nerves? Anticipation?

We were in the hospital. If the brightly lit, green, spotless corridor didn't give it away, then the smell certainly would have.

We were seated uncomfortably on a green and white plastic bench. The sign on the wall said "Maternity Wards". But this didn't help the mystery because I had never come across that word before.

I found myself fearing for my mother. I could hear the cry of infants in the surrounding wards. But I could also hear grunts and cries of pain coming from my mother's ward too.

I could hear her because we were seated right outside her ward. I saw that her name had been placed on the slot in the door.

The appearance of Uncle and Shisui distracted me from these fears slightly. I hadn't seen Shisui for quite a while because he'd started studying at the Academy last year. He was already in third year class even though he'd only been attending for a year and a half.

I'd be enrolled in the Academy next year. I wondered if I would move through the work as fast as he was.

"Shisui!" I called and waved. He waved back and sat next to us.

"It's been ages!" he replied, grinning. I nodded in agreement. But before I could say anything more, the door of my mother's ward suddenly flew open behind me.

"Come say hello to your new son!" my grandmother chirped. She looked very excited and cheerful.

"Come child, you're a big brother now!" She took me by the hand and led me inside.

I saw there were a few other women from the Uchiha clan inside. They were chatting and cleaning up what looked like… blood? Why blood?

I saw my mother sitting up on the bed. She was holding a bundle of blankets, which had a small head poking out of it.

I sped up, eager to see the brother, which had been talked about so much. My mother smiled when she saw me and held him out a little so I could see him better.

I climbed up onto the bed, careful not to sit on her. I felt a hand on my back and saw another on my brother's cheek. We all looked up and smiled at each other.

Another Uchiha had been added to the clan.

"I was going to call him Sasuke." My mother whispered.

"The maiden name of a legendary ninja?" my father asked.

She nodded. My father also nodded in approval.

Welcome to this world my brother, Uchiha Sasuke. I hope you have a better time here than I am.

**You may be wondering about the maiden name part. Well, in Japan men change their names when they marry into a higher-class family. The women change theirs when the man's family is higher class. Just so you know it's not a 'girl's name' or something.**

**If you read this Killa lla, then I just say that I can't please everyone, so I suggest you pick another fic. Thanks for the feed back anyway.**


	2. First Day

**(Falls into giant plot hole) Um, um, so Itachi graduated at seven, right? But Sasuke was in the academy by like five. Ok, I think I've found a way out of this plot hole… Correct me if I'm wrong, Itachi graduated at seven and was a chuunin by nine.**

**Remember, 7 month time skip!**

**Chapter 2**- First Day

I'll admit it. I was excited. Today I would start my formal education at the Academy. So of course I'd been ready for the last two hours.

But I wasn't the only one who seemed more cheerful than usual.

My father had what I would describe as an aura of pride surrounding him. I had noticed this before he'd left for his mission earlier this morning. Which meant he wouldn't come with me to the Academy today.

My mother seemed happy as well. Possibly this was because I was acting more like a child of my age for a change.

I entered the lounge and approached my now seven-month-old brother who was lying on a rug. I nuzzled his cheek. "Are you going to come to the Academy with me?" I whispered.

I knew talking to him a lot would help him to pick up speech quicker. So I talked to him whenever I could, whether he understood or not.

"Ani!" he giggled and squirmed slightly. I wasn't sure if he meant 'ani' as in older brother or if it was just another random sound.

Whatever it meant, he soon had my fringe hair in his grip and was laughing some more.

"Hey, I have to go." I said as I tried to gently release his grip.

"Ani!" he cried again. I stroked his recent growth of thin, dark hair. This seemed to settle him down a bit.

I smiled at him, got up and turned to leave. "Hey, are you feeling alright Itachi chan?" My mother asked, putting a hand on my head. "You've been smiling more than me lately!" she laughed.

Other people had noticed that? I'd have to tone down on expressing my emotions a bit then.

I shrugged, "I just have to… adjust."

Her smile changed and she walked past me to pick up Sasuke. What was that look? Sadness? Contempt? I couldn't tell.

Did she want me to smile more? …Most likely.

"Well, are you ready to go? We are!" she said, as she snuggled Sasuke.

I picked my previously discarded bag up and slung it over my shoulder. "Ready." I replied.

* * *

When we arrived at the Academy I saw Shisui right away. He was putting his bag down outside of a classroom, probably his own.

"Hey Itachi." He greeted.

I nodded in response, taking in my surroundings. I was in a hallway which was lined with windows on one side and classroom doors on the other. This part of the school's colour scheme was a plain blue and brown.

Thankfully it didn't stand out like the Hokage's building. Bright red…

"We're in different classes, so I won't see you at all. We can still walk home together though." He said as he moved off in the direction of his own classroom.

"See you." I replied. He smiled and waved.

"Would the new students please come this way?" an older and more authoritative voice asked. I looked to the source of this voice, seeing it to be a chunin man. He would probably be the sensei of my class.

All of the students and their relatives crowded around. I was surprised to see students here who would have to be younger than myself. Surely my father would have sent me to the Academy as soon as I was old enough.

I looked to my mother with question in my eyes. I wasn't really expecting an answer but she did anyway.

"Us Uchiha prefer to train our own youngsters." She said quietly, putting a hand on my shoulder. "You'll do fine here."

I nodded. It made sense our clan would do such a thing. Eighty-four percent of my clan were conceited enough to compete with the Hyuuga clan. This kind of patriotism towards one's family… I still couldn't figure it out.

"Welcome to the Konohagakure Academy new students." The sensei began.

**Sorry about the shortness. I'm not much for ideas at the moment, plus I have a lot of homework. Please be patient.**


	3. Lessons

**I'm updating this part because Alternate History 2 has come to a screaming halt. So I hope that those of you who bother reading author's notes and know of this part enjoy the chapter. The Minato in this chapter has nothing to do with Naruto's dad. I was just short on names…**

**Chapter 3- **Lessons

"My name is Minato Paul." My new sensei introduced himself. But… what kind of a name is 'Paul'? Where was he from? "I will be your teacher from now until you graduate, which will be sooner for some than others. Now, let's go into the classroom, shall we?" He opened the door behind him and everyone filed inside.

There were four rows of student desks behind us, but everybody crammed around the teacher's desk. "If any parents would like to view the seven year curriculum, I can discuss it with you whilst the students settle in." Minato sensei explained before focusing on his new students. "You will spend at least the next seven years with the people around you, so I suggest you get to know them now." He then sat behind his desk as anxious parents swamped him.

My mother smiled at me reassuringly, she knew that making acquaintances would probably be the most difficult thing for me to accomplish here. She gently put a subdued Sasuke in my arms before moving off to see Minato sensei.

Suddenly, a girl who couldn't have been any older than five, who had red markings on her face and a dog at her heels, turned to me and said in a reprimanding tone, "You can't use your _brother_ as a ninja tool!"

"To be honest, I wasn't planning to." I replied as Sasuke stretched out an arm to try and play with my fringe again. At the moment it seemed to be his favourite plaything. "But you use your dog? Inuzuka, correct?"

"Yeah, what of it?" She asked, tilting her head to the side, suddenly more hostile.

"Just curious." I replied, trying to act with relative normalcy. Cooperation was all part of being a ninja, not to mention I preferred to avoid conflict…

"Why do you talk like a grown up so much, Uchiha?" She questioned, hostility vanishing.

"I don't know… It's how people talk to me." I replied, gently disentangling my brother's fingers from my hair, which he'd finally succeeded in grasping.

The girl laughed at my brother's antics before saying, "Well, I'm Hanako, but just call me Hana, ok?"

"Itachi." I had time to respond before the teacher called for our attention agin.

"Would everyone take a seat? No time like the present to get into our first lesson!" He said enthusiastically as the parents/guardians began to leave. My mother took my brother from me before I went to find a seat. I took one next to Hana as everyone became quiet once again.

Once this had occurred, Minato sensei spoke, "We'll start off easy today with some basic theory work. So, how many of you know about the chakra circulatory system?" Hana and I raised our hands, as did one other boy who was probably a Hyuuga. "Good, good, that means most of us are at the same level. Sorry to you three, you'll have to treat this as revision."

* * *

I came home to a crying Sasuke, who was being nursed by my mother. "Hey there Itachi, did you learn anything new today?" She asked, rubbing my brother's stomach in comforting, circular motions.

"Not really." I replied, approaching my brother to attempt calming him down by stroking his almost non-existent hair again. He quieted to a softer whine before seeming to mumble something and falling silent.

"That's not fair! Why don't I have the magic touch?" My mother laughed before turning to Sasuke. "So, you miss your niichan, hm?" In response, he stretched out as though reaching for my fringe again.

"I think saying he misses my fringe would be more accurate, mother- mum." I quickly corrected, when I noticed a strange look in her eye.

"Look after him for a while, won't you? I need to start making dinner. She said, transferring Sasuke to my arms.

I moved off to the other side of the house, where my own room was situated. I knelt and laid him on the pillow of my futon. "Just stay there, Sasuke." I said as he tried to move his head to look around. "The stuff in the pillow is supposed to make you smart." I continued to talk, wondering when he would be able to talk back. Not for a long time, my mother had said.

I ensured his head was supported properly before I took off my backpack and extracted my homework. It included notes on the chakra circulatory system and the first three hand seals we would be learning about. Our teacher had also half joked about the fifth shinobi 'rule': Protect both hands.

I planned to protect more than just my own hands. I knew I had to take over as leader of the clan one day. Someday I would have a lot to protect. But for now, I would focus on my brother.

**What? Is that it? Don't worry, I was thinking the same thing… Well, off to my last year of school I go. See you when my next break comes around, which won't be until I get back from Japan. That's early April.**


End file.
